Salute 2016

SALUTE 2015

Friday, February 27, 2015

I thought it was best to get something painted up to set the scene for my Africa project, so what is better then some wild life, So I have searched the local toyshops for some African animals that would match 28mm minis and ended up with a Rhino and a Hippo, just gave them a wash, a bases and they was ready for play.

I have also painted up some whitemen, a unit of Dutch regulars under command of the infamouse Captain Van Effen. The Dutch East India Company was the main competition and main nemesis to the Swedish Africa Company regarding the trade in Cabo Corso i.e The SWEDISH Gold Coast;)

Last I have some pictures of 2 units of Swedish Regulars that got new bases, you have seen then before in the Scanian War, but they have now a tour of duty down in Africa, seems like they dosent want to leave their Carpus (Cap) at home ;)

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

So to my new wargaming project in conjunction with my playtest of Dan Meresys "The Men Who Would Be Kings", I have searched for a good Swedish angle of the colonial wars in Africa and the Swedish Officers in the Service of King Leopold and the Free Congo State are one track that I will follow leter on...

But I wanted some thing evem more exotic...

So I decided to run a project revolving around Cabo Corso - The Swedish Gold Coast in 1650-1663, present-day Ghana. The 1650´s are not really the focus of the rules but as the rules are so general, as Lion Rampant, it is no problem to use them just as they are 200 years erlier, a man got to do what a man got to do to get a Swedish connection ;)

The Swedish colony was founded in 1650 by Hendrik Carloff in present-day Ghana in Africa. It lasted until April 1663 when the whole Swedish Gold Coast was seized by Denmark and integrated it in the Danish Gold Coast.

...always the Danes, not even down in Africa they will let us Swedes work in peace... ;)The colony consisted of only a few forts and trading posts i.e. factories, scattered around Cabo Corso in what later would become the British Gold Coast then Ghana.

Following the foundation of the Swedish Africa Company (1649) by Louis de Geer an expedition under the command of Hendrik Carloff was sent to Africa in 1650. Carloff made a treaty with the Akan King of Futu (also Feta) on selling some land by the coast. On 22 April 1650 the Swedish Gold Coast was founded and Carloff became its first administrator. In 1652 the foundations were laid of the fort Carlsborg.In 1656 Johan Filip von Krusenstierna was appointed the new Governor. This enraged Carloff. He left Cabo Corso only to return on 27 January 1658 on the Danish Privateer Ship, Glückstadt. Fort Carlsborg was seized and made part of the Danish Gold Coast colony.King Charles X Gustav of Sweden made this one of his reasons to go to war with Denmark. After the Treaty of Copenhagen in 1660 Cabo Corso Castle was to be returned to Swedish administration: However it then was revealed that Carloff's associate Samuel Schmidt or Smith had already sold the colony in April 1659 to the Dutch West India Company on his own, and had disappeared with the gold to Angola.Later on the local population started a successful uprising against their new masters and in December 1660 the King of the Akan people subgroup-Efutu again offered Sweden control over the area. A new expedition was sent to the colony which remained under Swedish administration only for a short period. Von Krusenstierna was reappointed as administrator.On 20 April 1663 Fort Carlsborg and the capital Fort Christiansborg again were seized by the Danes after a long defense under the Swedish commander Anton Voss.On 9 May 1664 the area again was seized, this time by Robert Holmes who made it part of the British Gold Coast colony.

As inspiration for the project I have 4 Comic books published 1977-1982 "Johan Vilde" that tells the story about a young Swedish Ship-boy that end up in the Swedish Gold Coast, the books was only published in Swedish, sorry....

It is a set of colonial 'big skirmish' rules that revolvs around the colonial era 1850-1900, and the basics are the Lion Rampant engine but with some major changes to work better for a gunpowder era, probably some more changes when I get the playtesting up and going;)

Mock-up cover designed by me:)

I´m sure the real stuff will be much better but this will do for now...

Anyway at the moment I looking for the Swedish connection to the Colonioal warfare as I want all my wargaming project to have at least some Swedish connection as you surely know by now.

For Colonial wargaming the only real Swedish connection I at the moment have found was that around 10 or so Swedish officer that enlisted for the Congo Free State in 1883, they apparently did well and one of them was commander at Stanly Falls.

Some google translate texts below, sorry for the strange english...

Arvid Wester

He was hired in October 1883 along with a dozen other Swedish officers of King Leopold II of Belgium to assist in the Congo State's foundation . In this position , he made himself a noted particularly by the creditable manner in which he in August 1884 - February 1886 contested the responsible post as head of the Stanley Falls, on the Atlantic coast 's most remote and most important in the company's along the Congo River landscaped stations. Through his great personal courage witnessing fixed behavior - notwithstanding his entire military force consisted of only about twenty hausamän - and sitting at the same time hoof same way against natives, with whom he initially must fight serious battles, he managed to gradually overcome their respectful esteem and trust. As was also the case with the increasingly intrusive, against the former hostile Arabs , whose chief, the mighty Tippu Tip , wanted to encourage Wester to the transmit station. With Tippu Tip , he closed even a friendship covenant, which was of great importance both for the station's maintenance during the time Wester was its director , who lieutenant Edde Gleerups ( Wester's closest man ) trip across Africa . Since Westerville been relieved as station manager of a British colonial officer, attacked the Arabs ( in September 1886) station, which completely destroyed.

Edde Gleerup

He entered 1883 in Congo government service and became chief in 1884 Kimpoko at Stanley Pool. Since there he built a new station , he and Lieutenant Arvid Wester in November of the same year ordered to superintend the farthest station , Stanley Falls. Arab chief and slave trader Tippu Tip wanted However reign undisturbed in these parts , and demanded the station's evacuation . Westerville managed to finally get on good terms with Tippu Tip , and the station was developed increasingly over the Swedes lead. After the service the end received Gleerup arabhövdingens tender that under his patronage take the way back east to Zanzibar, and thus became Gleerup the eighth Europeans and the so far only Swedish , who crossed Africa. Gleerup left the station in late 1885 and came to Zanzibar in late June in 1886.
Suppouse this will be some good wargaming background that have to be done... BUT I also have one more Swedish african connection... more about that in a later post...

Saturday, February 14, 2015

Some weeka ago Jonas set up a couple of Fantasy games for us using the Song of Blades and Heroes rules. As it was some time ago I don+t really remeber what happend but I at least have a bunch of pictures from the two games we played during an very nice wargaming evening.

We added the reaction rules from some of Andreas Sfiligoi´s later rules, in short if an minit fails any of its activation dice the one of the opponents minis may try to make an reaction activation with as many dice as the opponent failed, after that the active player continues his turn. Worked really good and give a more fluid game.

The first game

The objective was that we both should locate some kind of ancient treasure...

I used my force of Fantasy Crusaders and Jonas had a force of Wildling even with a shaman.

Crusader Hero and Leader

Wildling Hero and Leader..or if it was the Shaman that was the tru leader...or his wife...

Everyone ruched for the different treasure location, but the ones that draw the longest straw was one of the Crusader crossbowmen, the one in the lower corner of the picture

To cover his escape with the tresaure two stoic billmen engage a mounted wildling.

and the two leaders settled their scores in the center...

The wildling leader was so weak that he had to get reinforcements...

More monuted wildlings engaded and tried to get by to catch the fleeing crossbowmen with the tresaure, but he managed to escape and bring the Crusaders a victory :)

Second Game

Second game was an escort mission there the Crusaders should cross the area and escape by the bridge with the pack horse that contained the tresaure erlier won.

The Crusader force was the same but the Wildlings had more mounted men this time and alos got to divide his force to be able to ambush from two sides...

The Wildlings was fast moving against the crusaders, and the Crusader leader and his squire rode out to approach them...

...so the infantry and the treashure could take another rout...

Wildlings on small ponys was no match for a Crusader Knight on a true warhorse...

But the wildling ponys are fast som they soon had engaged the infantry...

...and snatched the packhorse...

The Crusader leader tried to catch-up...

Fast moving with the pack horse leaving all Wildlings behng and seeing the bridge and safety close by...

But as victory was so neare...two wildlings manage to intercept and engage the Heroic crusader slaying him...

The Wildlings grab the pack horse once again and the Crusader squire tries in vain to stop him...

The Wildlings manage to escape with the Crusaders packhorse and tresure...

Two very nice and fun game, first one was a little bit cimbersome as we had to look in the rules quite much but for the second one all the basics was in place and the game was really fast paced.

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

I have built me some medieval plastic minis that will depict lightly armoured burghers, that armed themselfs with what ever weapons they have at hand. I built them from perry and fireforge plastic and added some hoods with green stuff.